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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27210490">episode 97 alt ending</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kookvba/pseuds/kookvba'>kookvba</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gintama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Relationship(s), fluffy fluff, not really anything else...., this used to be an ongoing collection but i decided to do oneshots separatedly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:55:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27210490</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kookvba/pseuds/kookvba</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Fluff. And gintoki having a cold. That's it folks.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>episode 97 alt ending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>go see this episode before reading, istg you wont regret it. i watch gintama in</b>
  
  <b>AnimeDao, where do u do so?</b>
</p><p>
  <b>P.S. I know the yorozuya's door is a shoji (sliding door), but for the sake of the fanfiction please imagine it's not.</b><br/>
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</p><p>(Alternate ending)</p><p>Their clients had finally left, even after all the trouble Kagura —or Gura-san— had caused them it seemed like the couple was able to manage on their own. Gintoki sighed as he felt a shudder go down his spine before he sneezed rather loudly, he had a high fever and yet his body felt like it was inside a freezer in the middle of the North Pole, the previous interruptions to his extremely needed rest were only making the matters worse. Why couldn't he get some peace in his own room!?</p><p>I mean it wasn't even his own fault he had a cold! That stupid gorilla-stalker had bumped into him on the street when he was coming home from the Pachinko parlor, the only reason Gintoki had even bothered stopping was because of the prize money in his (Gintoki's) hands, which put him in a good mood. The Shinsengumi chief had begged Gintoki to listen to his sorrows —probably Otae rejecting him once again— while clinging to his clothes. He had been too close for his liking, after all, there was only one person beside Kagura or Shinpachi who could get that close to him freely....but that wasn't the point of this flashback.</p><p>They had gone to a bar, and though Gintoki hadn't been really listening, Kondo had babbled on and on about how Otae-san wasn't accepting his gift, which was a wedding ring along with a condom and lube, and just kicked the shit out of him every time they met before leaving with a satisfied smile and whistling a tune. This guy really didn't seem to get a hint. Idiot.</p><p>Now that he thought about it properly, the gorilla-idiot had been red on the face and sweating even before they had gone drinking, of course it was just his typical bad luck he hadn't noticed that before accepting his offer of going drinking. Curse his unusually good mood for blinding him.</p><p>So by the next day, Gintoki had woken up dripping sweat, tired, and with an itchy runny nose, the situation wasn't any better with a panicking Kagura who thought Gintoki was dying instead of just having a cold and decided to soak him in freezing cold water, the snowflake assumed her mounstrously strong clan didn't get the Flu every year like an average human being.</p><p>Shinpachi's worried voice was what ended his sad flashback. "Gin-san, do you think you'll be okay if I go home? I can stay the night if you want me to."</p><p>"I'll be fine—*<em>cough</em> <em>cough</em>*, go home already and don't worry your sister, it's getting late", he barely managed to say, the cold seemed to be affecting his voice and now it sounded like he had a lump in his throat every time he spoke.</p><p>"Well, if you say so. Kagura-chan, my sister wanted you to come for dinner today, you in?"</p><p>"Hell yeah!!"</p><p>"Kagura-chan! Don't raise your voice in front of a sick person! Let's go so Gin-san can have his rest", the said girl just nodded and went towards the door, followed by Glasses. The two said their goodbyes and Gintoki locked the door. Finally, the place was quiet, Gintoki laid down and pulled the covers up to the neck, cursing himself for not repairing the heater before.</p><p>But, once again, his sleep was cut short by a person ringing the front door bell. Reluctantly, he uncovered and stood up, walking towards the front door as the other person kept ringing. "Yes, yes, I'm coming...........I said I'm coming so stop ringing!!"</p><p>In front of him stood two figures, one taller than the other.</p><p>"Kagura, Shinpachi, I thought you had left already?"</p><p>"Well, yeah-aru, but we decided to buy you some medicine just in case!"</p><p>Gintoki received a white plastic bag, checking its contents he found some cough drops and cooling pads, along with a bottle of water and—</p><p>"OI! Why the hell did you buy me diarrhea medicine?!!"</p><p>"Huh? Isn't diarrhea a symptom when you get a cold?"</p><p>"What type of cold do you monsters have?!"</p><p>"Hey, why are you being so rude?! We brought you medicine-aru!"</p><p>"If you were going to bring that kind of medicine then you shouldn't have brought at all!", he said before shutting the door on their faces, he crossed the living room to open the door of his room and go in, but before he could do so another ring resonated within the house.</p><p>"Yes?!", he yelled, opening the door only to find those two again.</p><p>"Uhh, you forgot the medi—", he grabbed the bag Glasses was offering and once again slammed the door. Seems like Kagura wasn't happy with that since she started ringing the bell nonstop, Gintoki freaking counted the minutes —yes, minutes— until she stopped. Maybe he was overreacting a little bit, but who could blame him when he hadn't slept even a wink today? This sickness was starting to turn him crazy.</p><p>Once again, Gintoki went inside his room and collapsed into his futon, before passing out he remembered to put on a cooling pad and tiredly drifted to sleep....not even fifteen minutes had passed when Gintoki once again heard that dreaded sound—</p><p>DING DONG!</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>
  <em>Thump thump thump thump!</em>
</p><p>"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT NOW, YO—?!"</p><p>Turns out the person at his door wasn't neither of the two brats the snowflake took care of. "...uh, what?", he said while exhaling smoke from the toxic stick, his eyebrow raised in question.</p><p>'Shit', was all he managed to think before slamming the door in front of the person (seems like that's all the he did nowadays). Gintoki slid down to the floor and covered his scorching face, although this time it wasn't from the fever. What was that person doing here?! No signs of life from him for more than 2 weeks and he just had to come today?! God, his luck was really rock-bottom these days.</p><p>"Yorozuya open the door.", they said from the other side.</p><p>".......go home, I'm in no condition to drink today."</p><p>"I'm here to take care of you, alcoholic sugar-maniac, now open the door before I take it down."</p><p>Those words spoken by the nicotine bastard seemed to hit deep inside him as he felt his heart skip a beat. He stood up and open the door, his face still facing down in embarrassment from his previous actions, but he was forced to look up when he felt a hand on his cheek caress him slightly.</p><p>"Woah, you're burning up! Haven't you taken any medicine yet?", Hijikata scolded him, with worry etched on his face, which definitely didn't help his stupid heart calm down. Gintoki dismissed him saying something about how a mayo-addict didn't have the right to scold him about his health, and as usual, Hijikata had responded with an insult and his classic glare.</p><p>They went farther into the house and entered his room, the snowflake noticed a bag in the other's hand just when he was laying down and covering up to the neck.</p><p>"What did you bring?", he said with genuine curiosity, honestly, their relationship wasn't as intimate as to take care of the other like this, they just met up to share some drinks together, no more (at least that's what Gintoki made himself believe). But Hijikata just glanced down at the bag like he had forgotten about it too and said, "Oh right, I was gonna make you some rice porridge, mind if I use your kitchen for a while?"</p><p>"Go ahead", and with that, Hijikata went towards the kitchen silently, Gintoki narrowed his eyes, the Mayora was acting very different from his usual snarky, i-dont-give-a-fuck self. Not that he minded in the least, the lack of discussions made the throbbing headache he had gotten subside a little, and being spoiled by the other wasn't bad at all. He let his thoughts wander for a while until Hijikata entered the room again with a tray in his hands.</p><p>"Here, don't eat it too fast or you'll burn your tongue. I hope the taste isn't off, this is one of the few times I've ever made it." The uncharacteristic tenderness under Hijikata's tone made jittering butterflies activate in his stomach. Deciding to ignore that, Gintoki sat up, grabbed the tray, picked up the spoon, and after blowing at it a little, he ate it.</p><p>People said being sick made everything you ate taste insipid and meek, but that wasn't the case at all for him, he didn't know if it was his unfazed palate or Hijikata's ability in the kitchen but either way, he immediately started to wolf down the entire thing until there wasn't even a grain of rice left.</p><p>Gintoki guessed the sight must have made Hijikata content because soon he heard a short laugh at his side.</p><p>"So it was that good, huh? Good to know", again, that softness inside the other's gaze made him nervous, good thing his cheeks were naturally red for now. Gintoki averted his gaze and changed the subject, they started to talk/fight about something else quickly; he hadn't even noticed when Hijikata had laid him down again and covered him completely, the conversation flowed naturally as the vice-chief replaced the cooling pad in his forehead, gave him medicine and wiped his face clean from sweat. By the time Hijikata was done preparing Gintoki for sleep, the other was already straining to keep his eyes open, his body completely peaceful and relaxed.</p><p>"Sleep well, Gintoki", said man thought he felt lips touch his cheek, but it must have been his imagination as he finally fell into a deep sleep without further words.</p><p>        ———————————————————————</p><p>He woke up alone with the darkness surrounding him, Gintoki was barely able to focus on anything around, even though the headache and sore throat were gone, his body was still sweating buckets and his senses were a little off from the high fever. He tried to sit up but his arms weren't cooperating so he collapsed back with a sigh and gave up.</p><p>Being in complete silence didn't help either, his fever was getting worse by the minute and Gintoki could literally feel the puddle of sweat forming inside the futon, though the worse sensation of all was the scorching heat within him intertwined with the quivers going down his body violently. It was starting to drive him mental. Not being able to move freely, anxiety started to grow inside him and just as he was going to start hiperventilating someone came inside.</p><p>"Oi, yorozuya, are you awa—.....Hey, what's wrong?", Hijikata quickly approached him as he laid there being a whimpering mess, and, seemingly on instinct, ripped the covers off him and put a desperate Gintoki on their lap. Pressing his head against Hijikata's chest, the snowflake said in between little hiccups, "I don't- I-I don't feel- ugh....it's t-too hot, haa, it- it feels awful", Gintoki squeezed his eyes shut.</p><p>It was quiet for a long time, the only noises being Gintoki's hiccups, hiccups that were gradually evolving to sobs. He wondered if Hijikata saw him as a nuisance, they weren't in any type of relationship, why would he bother being here at all?</p><p>Gintoki choked on a whimper, he didn't want Hijikata to hate him, although he was surrounded with people who loved him and cared for him the thought of losing his drinking partner who he shared a connection with made him want to hold onto Hijikata tight and not let go. Hijikata was the only person who he didn't feel like he had to be the stronger with, both emotionally and physically (yeah, Gintoki had beaten him in a fight but Hijikata was much more smarter than him fight-wise).</p><p>Alas, it was safe to assume Gintoki was all-out crying now.</p><p>"Wha- Don't cry, why are you crying?", Hijikata said, if Gintoki had raised his head he could have seen the unusual panicked expression on his face.</p><p>"W-Why are you here, Hijikata?", Gintoki said, hiding his face in the crevice of Hijikata's neck.</p><p>"What do you mean why, I'm taking care of—" "N-No, why <em>are</em> you here?"</p><p>That made Hijikata go silent again. The prolonged silence made Gintoki calm down a little, he didn't feel that bad anymore, Hijikata's presence and his constant heartbeat against him having helped with his short anxiety attack, now he was just softly panting from the fever. Gintoki thought the other wasn't going to respond until he heard a sigh.</p><p>".......I was on my way here when your kids intercepted me and told me about your condition, I don't know how they knew I was going to your place but I'm just glad they trusted me enough to tell me.", Hijikata responded, with a relieved face. Gintoki already had doubts of Kagura and Shinpachi knowing about their constant meetings and newfound friendship, after all, Kagura didn't question him when he came home late smelling of cigarettes and alcohol, or why they always had an ashtray around when Gintoki didn't smoke even a bit.</p><p>He still had another doubt though, and seems like Hijikata knew too since Gintoki didn't have to ask him this time for the answer.</p><p>
  <em>But, why would you come here when we didn't plan to meet?</em>
</p><p>"I'll be honest with you...", he started, taking Gintoki's face from his neck and wiping down the remaining tears on his warm cheeks with his thumb, of fucking course the snowflake's heart didn't lose any time in racing because of this action, stupid heart. "At first, I didn't like you at all, you were lazy, rude and only caused trouble for the Shinsengumi, even when we started to share drinks my perception of you was still kinda bad....but as we continued to meet up, I realized there was an entire side of you I didn't know of....before I could stop it, I was looking forward to our encounters so much I didn't even seem to mind if we were drinking or not. Just listening to your strange rambles made the stress of work melt away, knowing more about who you were and having serious talks now and then was enough for me to consider you a close friend, and although we still fight a lot and our personalities couldn't be more different, you're important to me now.", he said, looking at him straight in the eye with the clear, deep blue gaze that Gintoki secretly liked.</p><p>He thought the other must've been waiting for an answer so the snowflake opened his mouth to talk. But Hijikata beat him to it.</p><p>"With that realization came many others. I first realized that we both tended to...<em>lean</em> into each other and search for physical contact unconsciously, like when we're drinking at some bar our chairs are always closer than the usual distance, or when we're drunk and talking at some bench in the middle of the night, I noticed that we somehow always end up so close that our legs and arms are brushing. But it was only when those little touches evolved into you laying against me and me holding your hands, that I realized.....I didn't mind at all, in fact, I liked those moments when you would let your guard down around me. Soon enough, I was becoming addicted to the feeling of your body against mine....", Hijikata didn't seem to notice that with every word he was tilting his head closer to Gintoki's, his hand that once was against his cheek traveled towards his neck to take a possessive grasp on his head, their bodies were so close Gintoki could smell the scent of Hijikata's sweat mixed with his natural musky smell, it made his head spin (even more than the fever in his body).</p><p>"....And it didn't stop there, once I came to terms with that, I started panicking real bad. You and I are both men, besides, we're going to be in our thirties in a couple of years, what would the people of Edo say if they found out the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi was attracted to another grown man? What would your kids say if they saw us together like that? I had so many doubts and preoccupations that they seemed limitless......Yet the biggest one of them all was....how would <em>you </em>feel if you found out about this?.....I didn't want to tell you all this because I was...afraid. I was afraid you weren't feeling the same and that if you knew, then you wouldn't want to see me again."<br/>
.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.<br/>
Dumbfounded. That was the perfect word to describe Gintoki's state. Who knew the cold, demon vice-chief that everybody feared, would care so much for him? Would keep to himself such important thoughts in fear of being rejected?</p><p>It warmed Gintoki's whole body and soul in a way nothing could ever compete with, hearing Hijikata spell out his feelings he had realized that they were a lot similar to what he had been experiencing for quite a while already. They both felt the same things and didn't say anything because of cowardice. How frustrating.</p><p>"Wait—Ow ow ow ow! What are you doi—?!", Hijikata screamed as Gintoki tugged hard at his ears.</p><p>"Idiot", was all Gintoki said, tears finding their way to his eyes again at the newfound discovery, but before any could escape his orbs, hands were already at his cheeks ready to wipe them. "Wait what? Why are you crying again?", God, how had he not managed to notice the change in Hijikata's attitude towards him sooner? His eyes practically screamed worry as they scanned his face for clues, however Gintoki didn't let him, his head worming it's way out of his grasp and once again hiding in his neck (Gintoki's new favorite spot). Hijikata protested, wanting to see his face, but he quieted down real quick when Gintoki muttered something against his skin.</p><p>He froze up, his body tensing at the barely audible words. And before Gintoki could realize what was happening, hand were at his shoulders, pushing him away just enough to face the other. This time, Hijikata's eyes were serious.</p><p>"Wha—" "Say that again." "Why should—?" "Say. That. Again."</p><p>Recognizing that as a lost battle, he said, louder this time.</p><p>
  <em>"I love you."</em>
</p><p>And he meant it. Gintoki wasn't like Hijikata. Excluding Kagura and Shinpachi, <em>and</em> <em>maybe a few more people</em>, he didn't give two shits about what others could say about him for loving another man. It was his life. He was going to live and love whoever he wanted, no one could stop him.</p><p>"I love you", he repeated with a throaty voice, in case Hijikata thought it was an illusion of his mind, "I don't care if people say I'm weird or gross —fuck the world—, I don't care that we're near our thirties or that you being part of the Shinsengumi may cause us trouble later, none of that will make me love you less or regret my decision. I'm actually glad you made me realize this, I've never felt this way for anyone else so I probably would have never figured it out.", he finished with a laugh, though Hijikata was too immersed in his thoughts to actually respond.</p><p>"......", Gintoki stared at the downward-tilted face of the man he loved (damn was that satisfying to say), taking his (Hijikata's) chin into his hands and turning it up—</p><p>"......Aw, don't cry, Hijikata-kun~"</p><p>"Shut up, idiot", Hijikata said with a light blush blooming into his face. Tears were, in fact, dropping on his cheeks, so Gintoki decided to kiss them away. Leaning forward on Hijikata's lap, he touched his puckered mouth to the other's slightly red cheek, the salty tears moistening his lips. He continued to leave small pecks on his cheek, reaching the corner of thin, natural-colored lips.</p><p>Gintoki was about to pull away, very conscious of the fact that if he prolonged their contact too much Hijikata could get infected (though he probably was already, considering Gintoki was sitting on his lap and touching him a lot), and being a man with such a demanding job he was sure the Mayora couldn't afford being sick.</p><p>Except that this time, Gintoki wasn't the one to start it.</p><p>Lightly chapped lips touched against his own firmly, making his mind go blank for a moment, trying to process the information, they didn't move for a while and just continued to press themselves against each other, as if savouring the feeling.</p><p>It wasn't his first kiss. Gintoki was sure it wasn't Hijikata's either, but something about sharing a kiss with someone who loved him back was what made it so special. Soon enough, Hijikata finally moved his lips, him following suit as they kissed softly, eyes closed, with no rush in the world. Their hands searching for places to hold onto in the other's body. Wrapping an arm around his neck, Gintoki decided on Hijikata's silky straight hair, he felt a hand land on the fabric over his waist while the other rested on his equally clothed thigh, tenderly caressing.</p><p>Even though they weren't sharing telepathy and he didn't accurately know what the other felt; the snowflake was completely sure they both agreed that there wasn't a greater feeling in the world than this. Gintoki tugged on the dark green hair when he felt a tongue trace his lips slowly, he knew they should have stopped there, but the temptation of Hijikata's lips —his whole being, really— was too big. So he opened his lips, shivering as the taste of tobacco completely filled his temporarily dull senses. He didn't mind Hijikata's bad smoking habit and the perks it came with, this was a fanfic, after all, not like he could die from it.</p><p>They continued kissing, the room being filled with Gintoki's muffled soft pants and the wet sounds of their kiss. Hijikata was a really good kisser, he decided, just a kiss from him and his mind was already fuzzy, though Hijikata didn't seem to be in a better state, a consistent blush on his cheeks revealing it. A different kind of heat was starting to form in the snowflake's body, pressing their tongues together he explored further the other's mouth, licking at his gums and biting Hijikata's lower lip. Which the other seemed to really like since he was pulled even closer to his body, a grunt coming from his mouth along with a squeeze to his thigh, Gintoki smiled in the middle of the kiss and let the other break away from his lips.</p><p>They breathed in for a minute, joining their foreheads so their eyes were at the same height, ocean blue meeting dark red. "Maybe we should sto—", Gintoki wasn't allowed to finish as the other once again enveloped his lips in his own. This time, the kiss was a little more rushed as Hijikata opened his (Gintoki's) mouth rather forcefully, immediately inserting his tongue inside the cavern.</p><p>After some minutes full of kissing, Gintoki was sucking on Hijikata's tongue like his life depended on it, trying to hold back low moans at the feeling of long fingers tracing the line of his spine down his back gently, then touching the edge of his black shirt where his skin was slightly exposed. His hands were cold and made shivers run through his feverish body, Gintoki concluded he couldn't stand that much in his current state as his head fell out of its position on Hijikata's shoulder to hang backwards slightly, with the intention to stop their actions. But his breath was caught in his throat when Hijikata's sweltering lips touched his neck. "Hi-Hijikata—<em>mmh</em>, d-don't", he tried, but the aforementioned ignored him, continuing to explore the expansion of his flushed pale neck, first kissing, then opening his mouth to bite and taste, pushing away the short silver curls behind his ears.</p><p>Gintoki reaaally couldn't take so much stimulation while having a fever. His body starting to tremble involuntarily, and his mind was disconnecting from reality. Definitely didn't help when Hijikata decided to suck slightly, "<em>Ah</em>Hijikata...<em>haa</em>....s-stop it already", he whined trying to hold back his moans as the other sucked marks on his skin, biting them right after.</p><p>The yorozuya reunited all his remaining strength to push Hijikata away from his neck, once again telling the other to cease. "Why stop? I can literally feel how much you like this, yorozuya", Hijikata countered, trying to reunite with his mouth once again. Urgh, that deep tone on his voice should have been illegal.</p><p>"I-I can't do anything in this condition, we can continue once I get better", that brought some sense into Hijikata's mind as he finally stopped and took Gintoki out of his lap, laying him down carefully on the futon, he reached behind him to fetch some towels.</p><p>"I'll wipe down your sweat", Hijikata muttered. Gintoki found no reason to oppose, not like he could do it himself. Nodding his head, he opened the damp black shirt he wore on a daily basis and started to pull off his pants, with a bit of difficulty, because of the fever. Of course the snowflake didn't miss the longing stare fixated on his strawberry boxer-clad pale body, "Are you sure you can do this? You look like you're going to jump on me any second now," Gintoki would <em>never</em> waste a chance to tease Hijikata, lovers or not.</p><p>And he got the exact reaction he expected, "I'm not a fucking caveman! I know how to properly hold back, damned perm head."</p><p>"But just a while ago you were—" "Oh shut up!"</p><p>"But are you sure—" "I SAID YES!!"</p><p>Gintoki laughed out loud, the noise coming out a little distorted because of the cold, that didn't stop him though. His laughter was increased when he saw the grumbling look the other was wearing, he clutched on his stomach and rolled around his futon.</p><p>"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. Let's see how much fun you have when I throw a bucket of cold water on you while you're asleep."</p><p>He gasped, turning to look at Hijikata, who looked awfully serious about what he said. "Y-You wouldn't dare...", he stuttered. Hijikata only smiled threateningly, "Try me.", he whispered, lowering his eyelids to give him the condescending look he used when dealing with criminals.</p><p>Okay, let's admit that turned Gintoki on quite a bit—</p><p>"Fine! I'm sorry for teasing you even though what I said was true, Oogushi-kun. I won't bother you again, at least until tomorrow...", he said that last part on a mumble, but Hijikata heard him anyways. The nicotine addict just glared at him for a while before taking the towel and going back to his task.</p><p>It didn't take long for Hijikata to wipe his whole body down, earning himself a few teasing comments (with Gintoki forgetting their recent agreement) when he took a little longer to wipe down his thighs. Soon, Gintoki was once again covered to the neck, now wearing a green shirt and pants. Hijikata also gave him medicine and warmed up some leftovers of the rice porridge.</p><p>"Why are you being so nice to me? It's not like you at all", Gintoki voiced out the thoughts that had been on his mind since the other came once everything was done.</p><p>Hijikata looked at him then to the ground before answering, "No one wants to be lonely when they're sick". There was a bitter undertone on his voice, did he say that from personal experience? After that Hijikata stood up, he took his uniform jacket from the corner where it was and did a gesture to put it on.</p><p>"Are you leaving already?"</p><p>"Yeah, I've got work to do."</p><p>"But didn't you just say that no one wants to be lonely when sick?"</p><p>"If you were the type of person to really feel like that, then the brats would be here with you."</p><p>"That's different. Besides, what do you have against being here?"</p><p>"That if I'm here with you I'll want to touch you and you just said we can't do that!"</p><p>Gintoki paused their discussion after hearing that. Turns out Hijikata was just a big softie, he would've laughed if it wasn't for the serious face Hijikata had. "....You know what? I don't care if you get sick anymore, come here."</p><p>The other did as told, quickly discarding his jacket and vest on the floor to squeeze himself inside the space Gintoki had opened up under the covers. The change in his temperature was immediate, Gintoki instantly felt warmer in the other's open arms. He raised his head a bit to peek at Hijikata's face, only to see blue eyes already looking at him.</p><p>They stayed like that, just gazing at each other in peaceful bliss. "Won't you say it too, Hijikata?", he broke the silence.</p><p>"W-what the hell do you want me to say, sugar freak.", Hijikata avoided his gaze, turning pink at the ears. "I think you know what I mean.", where he had gotten the confidence to act like that, Gintoki didn't know.</p><p>Hijikata looked at him with pleading eyes, as if to say 'please don't make me say it out loud'. But it was to no avail, Gintoki would hear those words right now even if he had to force them out of Hijikata's mouth. Giving him a hard look, he heard the Mayora sigh, "....Fine."</p><p>The snowflake perked up, sitting up on his elbow to pay attention to the other, which only seemed to further embarrass him, his whole face —and a bit of his neck— turning a pretty shade of reddish pink. Gintoki could bet even his organs that no one had seen the sight of Hijikata so embarrassed, and he absolutely loved that.</p><p>"I....I love you", he finished, burying his face on Gintoki's neck to avoid looking at the other.</p><p>Gintoki had to admit he did felt like crying when he heard the words, his heart clenching painfully inside his chest. But he held them up, not wanting to cause another commotion between them. Instead, his arms wrapped around Hijikata's shoulders and he held him closer while grinning, the nicotine bastard could probably feel the insistent beating of his heart against him but Gintoki didn't care, he was happy.</p><p>They didn't talk about anything else, just relishing in each other's arms. Hijikata didn't complain when Gintoki wrapped his legs around his torso —one of his thighs was being crushed under the weight of Hijikata's body—, not that he minded in the least. The other man engulfed his middle between his arms and snuggled closer to Gintoki's neck, until he could feel Hijikata's nose tickle the union of his neck and shoulder. He sighed, feeling the exhaustion of his sickness pull him towards sleep, Gintoki just held the other tighter, buried his face in the dark hair and closed his eyes.</p><p>This was the feeling he had been longing for all his life.</p><p>————————————————————————</p><p>It was noon, the sun barely reaching its peak for the day. The streets of Edo were full to the brim with people, all of them enjoying a beautiful sunny day. Shinpachi walked down the side way of the road, with Kagura by her side, they maintained a casual conversation about trivial matters, laughing when they saw someone drop their ice cream on top of someone else's feet.</p><p>"Kagura-chan, are you sure we should be going to the Yorozuya?", the glasses boy asked.</p><p>"It's not like we can leave Gin-chan alone, he's sick! Besides, I'm not so weak that I'd be infected by your small time fever!", she responded, happily skipping with her umbrella open and over her head to cover the sun.</p><p>Shinpachi sweat-dropped at her words. 'It's my health I'm worried about, you Amanto.'</p><p>"Ahh, but he's probably not alone, I'll bet you five bucks Hijikata-san is there."</p><p>"Make that ten-aru."</p><p>"No way! Hijikata-san always leaves before you even wake up, I'd be wasting money!"</p><p>"You're already wasting money believing Mayora will be there, why not waste more?"</p><p>Neither of them was surprised about that supposition anymore, they had noticed the clues in Gintoki's behavior and figured it out themselves (more like Shinpachi trying to convince Kagura and her denying it while saying Gintoki was better than that), not like they minded in the least. Shinpachi was just glad Gin-san was enjoying himself in someone else's company.</p><p>The two of them continued arguing for a bit before settling on 13 bucks, changing the subject once they saw the familiar building a few kilometers away.</p><p>"Anyways, have you played Anim*l Cr*ssing recently? I heard there was a new update today, now you can- OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!", Glasses said, rubbing his head where Kagura had hit him.</p><p>Said girl was looking straight-up murderous, "Ugh! Why is everyone talking about that stupid game?! I hate it!"</p><p>"B-But just yesterday you were bragging about how you caught a Whale Shark!", that didn't seem to make the situation any better, if anything, the alien girl looked even more ready to punch someone.</p><p>"Shut up-aru! My N*ntendo Sw*tch broke last night, I'm gonna sue the company for selling me a faulty product!"</p><p>"....", Shinpachi stared at the girl, his bullshit detector was tingling at the spoken words, he also decided to ignore the fact that Kagura said 'my' when everyone knew she had been taking Katsura-san's console when he wasn't around, leave it to that idiot not to notice it missing sometimes. "Mind telling me how it broke?", he asked.</p><p>"W-Well, as you were saying I caught a Whale shark yesterday...b-but I was so happy I jumped off my feet and......", for once, Kagura actually looked embarrassed as she said, ".....a-and when I looked down-aru....the N*ntendo was cracked on the ground..."</p><p>"HOW THE HECK IS THAT A FAULTY PRODUCT YOU JUST WENT AND BROKE IIIIT!!!", Shinpachi snapped, "BESIDES THAT WAS KATSURA-SAN'S CONSOLE! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WHEN HE ASKS US ABOUT IT?!"</p><p>"I DON'T KNOW, YOU IDIOT PATTSUAN! WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING ANYWAYS?!"</p><p>"YOU'RE—......no, I'm better than that....*sigh*, we'll talk about that later with Gin-san, for now let's go check on him.", they rounded the corner and started to climb up the stairs. Opening the door, Shinpachi first noticed the flat was completely dark, "Guess he must be sleeping then."</p><p>Kagura stepped inside and felt around for the switch, just as the lights blinked on Glasses saw something next to the entrance. "Ha! Those shoes aren't Gin-san's! You owe me 13 bucks now~", he sang, glad for the free money.</p><p>"Tch! That's not proof, what if they're someone else's?", Kagura replied, the pissed look returning to her face as they took off their shoes and wandered inside.</p><p>"Who else other that Hijikata-san wou—AHHHHHHHH WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!?!"</p><p>In front of them, was a sight out of a horror movie. The couches were turned over and items were all over the floor. Not to mention one of the walls was sprayed with a still dripping suspicious red liquid....</p><p>"GIN-CHAN" "GIN-SAN"</p><p>Thinking the worse out of it, both of them rushed to the said person's room, they slid open the door only to see a sleeping Gintoki laying there on his futon, another unidentified person collapsed over a futon next to him.</p><p>"......what the hell-aru?"</p><p>——————————————</p><p>A lot of '<em>freaking </em><em>wake up</em><em> lazy bastards!</em>' screams and tidying up later......</p><p>"So let me get this straight. Hijikata-san came here last night and took care of you, but he got sick the next morning?", a nod came from the two men sitting on their respective futons. "Then Gin-san was acting like a child and didn't want to take a bath so you guys ran around the whole house while having a fever and made a giant mess?", Gintoki flinched at the mention of his name, his face visibly reddening, "But that's not all, after bathing, Hijikata-san was making Omurice and when he got the ketchup bottle it slipped out of his hands and Gin-san slipped and fell on top of it, hence the red splatter on the wall?!", this time neither responded, covering their faces in silent shame.</p><p>It was silent. No one saying anything for a few minutes, at least until all males heard a 'pfft' coming from the only girl.</p><p>"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA", she laughed, rolling around the ground next to Gintoki's futon, where the two teenagers were sitting down. Her loud, jolly laugh made Shinpachi slowly laugh too. Now they were both fueling each other's laughter, Shinpachi laughing at Kagura's laughter and her laughing at Gintoki's and Hijikata's flabbergasted expression.</p><p>Hahahaha! That's so dumb...h-how the hell did you manage to- HAHAHA!", she tried to say. The snowflake stared at the two as his shock lessened, he couldn't help but smile too.</p><p>"Yes yes, funny story, now get out unless you want to end up like this idiot over here", he pointed at Hijikata, who had a cooling pad and red nose, Hijikata glared at him hard before sneezing, "Uh, excuse me? Who was the one that said 'Don't go, I'm lone-'", he couldn't finish his bad imitation of the snowflake as a wet towel was smacked to his face.</p><p>"WHAT THE-" "Shut up, nicotine bastard!! No one asked you to come!!", Gintoki responded.</p><p>These two barked more insults and sneers, Kagura and Shinpachi just stared at them then looked at each other, smiling they stood up and went to get some medicine for the sick idiots. Who, mind you, kept fighting until they had no more to say, sighing as they dropped back on their futons.</p><p>Gintoki turned his head to look at the other, Hijikata had his eyes closed.</p><p>"Hijikata."</p><p>"Hn?"</p><p>"I'm glad I got sick.", with that the latter blinked slowly, glancing at Gintoki who wore a fond smile. Staring at him for a few minutes, Hijikata finally turned his head again and shut his eyes.</p><p>"Yeah, me too..."<br/>
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"Gintoki."</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"As soon as we're both healthy again I'll fuck you so much you won't be able to get out of bed again for days."</p><p>Gintoki turned to look at Hijikata in embarrassment, the bastard had the shame to sound like he was talking about the damned weather.</p><p>"I'd like to see you try."</p><p>"That's a promise."</p><p>Gintoki smiled trough his sudden cough fit, he acted like he didn't want to, but he could only imagine Hijikata's tomato face when Gintoki told him how many times he had masturbated while thinking about him already.</p><p>"Sure, <em>that's a promise</em><em>.</em><em>" </em><br/>
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</p><p><b>I'm a sucker for confessions and cuddles </b>🥺.</p><p>
  <b>If you have any ideas for one shots then please deposit them in comments.</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Thank you for reading!</b>
</p><p>                                                                                                                                                      —V</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Stay happy and eat well!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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